Metapost: Attention Ladies of Decatur (Georgia)!

This coming Friday is the first Friday in March, so that means it's time for another Ladies of Decatur tweetup!

Date: Friday, March 4
Location: Carpe Diem
Time: 6-ish (I'll aim to be there around 5:30)

Please leave me a comment or tweet me at @RandomOenophile (link to follow me above) so I know approximately how many to expect. Happy spring!

Tasting Notes: European Cellars at JavaMonkey

Yes, I'm actually blogging about wine this week! I have to do that every once in a while so y'all don't think I'm knocked up. On the other hand, a recent comment addressing me as "sir" on a post from three years ago tells me that people still think I'm a guy.

I was supposed to go to novel critique group this past Thursday night, but Hubby and I have been crazy busy with our jobs, so we haven't had the chance to spend much time together. All Jess (also a woman) at JavaMonkey had to say at a previous tasting was two magic words: Eric Solomon. He's an importer who focuses on "place over process," and I've rarely had a wine of his I didn't like. With a nod to a recent post by my awesome blogger friend Joe (not a woman), I'll try not to be too pretentious in my descriptions.

2009 Giachino Altesse (Savoie, France): 100% Altesse.
I love tasting grapes I've never had before. This one, originally called Roussette, which I've also never had, was originally from Cyprus, but apparently the soil next to the Alps is a little bit different. Instead of being sticky, this one has a little citrus and stone fruit with some muskiness and a lot of floral notes on the palate. It's also really dry and would likely be better with food. Hubby and I think that a seafood pesto dish would be just about perfect with it.
Rating: Good

2009 Bergerie de l'Hortus Cuvee Classique Blanc (Montferrand, France): 30% Chardonnay, 30% Sauvignon Blanc, 30% Viognier, 10% Roussane
The guy who started this winery was walking in the hills and found the ruins of what may have been a Roman farm growing the "Mediterranean three" of wheat, olives, and grapes. He cleaned it up and started growing wine there. This one has an apricot-jasmine nose with a little honey and stone fruit on the palate.
Rating: Good to Very Good

2008 Rhône by Roger Sabon (Côtes du Rhône, France): 80% Grenache, 10% Syrah, 10% Cinsault
This winery has been in the family since 1576 and currently has three generations working on it. They must drink a lot. My favorite of the evening, this one is a nice, smooth, dry red with some earthiness. It's not heavy at all and would be a great summer sipper with light grilled food or on its own.
Rating: Very Good

2009 La Madone (Loire Valley, France): 100% Gamay
One of my table mates asked Jess, "Are you trying to get rid of the leftover Beaujolais Nouveau in disguise?" This one's not a nice Gamay. My notes say moldy strawberries and very tart.
Rating: Meh

2008 La Granacha (Côtes du Rhône, France): 100% Grenache from 80-year-old vines
A little acetone-chemical on the nose with some raisin. Big and chewy with high alcohol, it wants steak or barbecue.
Rating: Okay, got better as it opened

2009 Château Pesquie Terrasses (Côtes du Ventoux, France): 70% Grenache, 30% Syrah
If you've been following our adventures for a while, you know that Hubby and I are always on the lookout for good wines from the Côtes du Ventoux region after we had a particularly good one in Belgium. Yes, I just commented elsewhere that I think the term "barnyard funk" is a funny one to use with wine, but there are some French syrahs that have that aspect on the nose. This one had smooth fruit with a hint of caramel and really became lovely after it was open a while with the funkiness all but disappearing and just leaving the fruit.
Rating: Good to Very Good

Oh, and in exciting news, the Emory Commons Publix now has a cheese counter and cheese minions!

I was irked when they decided to rearrange the whole freaking grocery store, but I can live with it if it means I can get cheesy goodness. Alon's is still my first choice, but in a pinch, this will do.

The Great Bread Experiment, Part One: Confessions of a Newbie Bread Baker

I have a little secret to share, and it's scandalous. You see, I'm in love with another man, and he's a member of the cloth. Even more shocking? Hubby doesn't mind! It's because the thing I'm in love with isn't his eyes or hair, it's his…

…recipes!

I'm talking about Brother Rick Curry, of course, author of The Secrets of Jesuit Soupmaking and The Secrets of Jesuit Breadmaking. No, I've never met him, but his recipes are divine, if you'll excuse the pun.

The Secrets of Jesuit Soupmaking was a gift from my parents' neighbors when I was in graduate school. I'm not sure how they found it or whether they've tried it themselves. Maybe their thinking was along the lines of, "Hey, she's a budding cook, and she's Catholic! This is perfect!" Each recipe is accompanied by a story, either from the author's experience or from Catholic lore, and that's about all I paid attention to when I first got the book. The recipes were just too much for one person living alone, and I was intimidated by the stocks.

Fast forward four or five years to Hubby looking through our cookbook shelves and pulling it out with a "What's this?" He took making stock as a challenge, so the stars and ingredients aligned. We've made several recipes out of that book, which prompted Hubby to give me the Secrets of Jesuit Breadmaking for Christmas this past year:



I'd heard that making bread was addictive, but I thought, "surely that bug won't bite me!" Even so, I was cautious, and it took some nudging by Hubby to get me to dip my toe into those floury waters with Focaccia:


Crispy on the outside and dense on the inside with a nice mix of herbs both in the bread and on top, it was delicious.


The next weekend, we made Irish Lamb Stew from Cooking Light, and I made onion rolls to go with it. These guys were more like the Sister Schubert rolls in texture and flavor (what is it with religious and bread baking?) with onion and dill in them.

The following weekend, with a freezer full of bread, we decided to take a little break from the baking. Our eating had not caught up with my bread production habits, so we settled for pizza dough, which I'd made a few weeks previously and a Deep Dish pizza from the Weight Watchers pizza cookbook.

See? Playing with leavening agents is addictive.

Finally, Superbowl weekend, with a pot of simmering meatballs in spaghetti sauce (my dad's recipe), I got back to the bread making with olive bread.

I'm a bad Italian and only like olives in stuff (not on their own), so I enjoyed this bread most dipped in the sauce that went with the pasta. Hubby, my carb enabler, really liked it.

Oh, and I'd like to note that I don't have a bread machine. Each of these projects was hand-kneaded. My only "cheat" is using the stand-up mixer for "beat for ten minutes"-type instructions. Yes, I make a big mess in the kitchen, but it's a yummy mess!



Okay, I'm hooked. My goal is to make each of the recipes, but I'm not going to commit to a timeline. Just look for bready updates to come! Atkins aficionados need not apply…

Tasting Notes from the West Coast Correspondent!

Being an oenophile has its advantages, namely friends who are willing to drink for you and send you notes! My very talented friend James Bassett lives in Seattle and does sculpting, Qi-Gong instruction, and freelance writing and editing when he's not drinking wine. You can see his website here. Everything below is his wonderfully detailed guest post.

2007 Columbia Valley Syrah
Waters Winery
Columbia Valley, WA

Tremendously aromatic, this fine Syrah is “made of 100% Syrah from select ‘cool climate’ sites in Washington State.” Which means it is a blend, rather than being made from grapes all from a single vineyard. Which means that it is half the price of Waters’ impressive single-origin Syrahs -- yet it is nearly as good, in my opinion!

Black and red cherry, black pepper, cola, licorice, vanilla, even olive and watermelon swirl on the tongue, along with smoke, black tea, and subtle hints of a mushroomy muskiness that strengthens as the finish lengthens and lingers. The complexity on the tongue, along with an acidity that sneaks from the front of the mouth to the back as of the palate develops, though, will have you taking another sip long before that finish is finished. This is what Syrah at all about -- and it comes at a great price.

Hedges CMS Red 2009
Hedges Family Estate
Columbia Valley, WA
39% Cabernet Sauvignon, 45% Merlot, and 16% Syrah.

Wine is a fascinating, sometimes baffling substance. It is so easily affected by so many factors, so dependent on both weather and winemaker, and can change drastically from year to year. Take the Hedges CMS, for instance. Two years ago I called the 2007 vintage one of the best wines in Washington -- in fact, one of my favorite wines, period. When your lovely hostess and her equally lovely husband visited the PNW last summer, I provided a sampling of several of my favorite local wines for them, picked from my guest reviews here on Cecilia’s site; the 2007 Hedges CMS was no longer available, so I got the 2008 instead.

The consensus: Meh.

For a number of reasons, 2007 was a truly spectacular year for wine across the state of Washington -- pretty much every grape in every region produced great wines. And 2008 seems to have been just as uniformly unspectacular. We were all completely unimpressed with the 2006 Hedges. It wasn’t at all *bad,* just completely and unremittingly *bland* from weak start to pale finish -- and a huge letdown after the 2007 (especially considering Cecilia and husband’s anticipation after my review). It was so unremarkable that neither Cecilia nor I bothered to review the wine at all. (Though perhaps we at least should have warned you, her valued readers, to Save Your Money. Well, better late than never: consider yourselves warned. . . . )

But now we have the Hedges Family’s effort for 2009. And the pendulum has swung away from the disappointment of 2008 and back toward flavor -- we can only hope that this is indicative of 2009 for Washington in general.

Now, before you get too excited, I have to say that the 2009 is not nearly as wonderful as the 2007. It is far less aromatic, and attacks with a disconcertingly acerbic bite on the tip of the tongue, almost as if this wine is trying to be sparkling. Hopefully that will soften as this wine ages. In any case, once you recover from that surprise, this settles down to a very enjoyable and well-behaved wine, grapey and peppery/herby with undertones of slate, cedar, tobacco, and tar. While it lacks the richness and character of 2007, it is nicely balanced (perhaps a bit on the hot side at the moment, but that should also fade with age) with a medium body and just enough tannin that it should pair well with most foods.

A to Z Pinot Noir 2008
A to Z Wineworks
Newburg, OR

Above and beyond the earth and spice we expect of any Pinot Noir, this medium-bodied wine sourced from across the state (hence “A to Z”) pretty well typifies *Oregon* Pinot Noir -- not much aroma, but in the mouth a strong minerality cuts the bright sweetness of red cherries, blueberries, even a hint of strawberries. Fruit dominates, but the palate has enough layers of flavor that it maintains its strength all the way to the end of the very long finish. Keeping in mind that 2008 wasn’t a very good year out here overall, you can certainly find better Pinot Noirs from the PNW (especially from Washington, but I may be biased. . . .), but it would be hard to find an easier-drinking wine appropriate for any occasion with any group, from connoisseurs to those friends who think that any wine that comes in a glass bottle is fancy (you know who I mean. . . .).

2007 Cabernet-Merlot
San Juan Vineyards
50% Merlot, 25% Cab Franc, 25% Cab Sauv

Very small vineyard on rustic, scenic San Juan Island -- closer to Victoria BC than to mainland Washington. When I saw small, I mean they have just seven acres planted -- mostly Madeleine Angevine and Siegerrebe, with one acre of Pinot Noir (the San Juans don’t get hot enough to grow reds). So 70% of their output is sourced from other Washington AVAs.

With Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon sourced from the Yakima Valley and Cabernet Franc is from Horse Heaven Hills, this beautiful, ripe hand-crafted vintage spent 20 months in French, Hungarian, and American oak barrels, and that extra care is apparent as soona s you pull the cork.

The beautiful deep plum color, complimented by a very dusty aroma full of tannins, let you know just what to expect from this bold wine: cola and cocoa and smoke (oh my!) leap onto the palate with the first taste followed immediately by a perfusion of blueberry, cherry, cassis, and cedar. The high fruit is perfectly balanced with earthy, foresty bottom notes that carry through into a long, strong tannic/mineral finish. Wow!

They don’t make much of this -- or any of their wines -- but they do ship, so I’d suggest ordering some. Meanwhile, I’m going to try to get my grubby little mitts on some of their other products. And, say -- a good friend of mine just so happens to live on San Juan Island. Maybe it’s time I pay her a visit. . . .

Flying Fish Merlot 2008
Wahluke Wine Company
Columbia Valley, WA

Cherries (red and black), plums (very purple), chocolate and caramel, with touches of pomegranate and blueberry leading into silky vanilla-draped tannins in the long, subtle finish. This should pair quite nicely with just about anything as long as it’s not *too* spicy.

And if the wine itself doesn’t make you feel good enough about drinking it and you need even more reason, Wahluke donates a portion of the profits to Ocean Conservancy to protect wild healthy oceans “in honor of the waters that are home to the great salmon that travel thousands of miles from the ocean up the Columbia River past several of our vineyards.” So what are you waiting for?

Shooting Star Blue Franc 2008
Steele Wines, Lake County, CA
100% Yakima Valley (WA) Lemberger

Made in California, this surprising wine is made from Lemberger grapes grown in Washington’s Yakima Valley AVA. Lemberger is the American name for the Austrian Blaufränkisch -- or “blue grape from France.” Confused yet?

Well, don’t worry about it. All you have to know is that this crisp, medium-bodied wine starts out cinnamon-hot (from the alcohol showing through) and peppery, with coffee and plum swirling through, but that quickly gives way to big Merlot-y fruit. That, too, fades quickly, leaving soft tannins to carry that transparent alcohol heat An odd assortment of flavors, perhaps, but a good one. This wine is fine by itself, but you could also try pairing it with the hearty flavors of its Austrian (not French!) homeland

And as long as we’re immersed in geographic confusion, let’s go even more international and pop a cork on some bubbly (yes, French this time!):

Nicholas Feuillatte Brut Champagne NV

Okay, you may be asking yourself “Why is the West Coast wine correspondent reviewing French champagne? Especially when he doesn’t really even care for champagne?” Well, let’s just call this the special International Edition of my guest blogging. I was introduced to this particular French champagne in Miami by a dear English ballet-dancer friend of mine who lives in Las Vegas and is married to a Russian pyrotechnics expert. International, indeed!

Brighter and more floral (what some snobby types might call “unrefined”) than what you would expect from champagne, this wine is rich with hay, honey, green peppers and olives, grass, and melon/citrus flavors. This is not your typical champagne, and I say that’s a good thing -- and for only around $35, this from now on will be my go-to choice for those situations that absolutely call for champagne.

Metapost: Attention Ladies of Decatur (Georgia)!

The first Friday of January brought Hubby to a hockey game, so I decided to have a happy hour with some of my Twitter friends in Decatur. The small gathering went so well, I thought I'd try to make it a monthly thing: First Friday Women of Decatur Happy Hour. Okay, we can come up with a better name. Here are the details:

Date: February 4
Place: The Palate side of Palate/McGowan's in Oakhurst
Time: 6:00 p.m.-ish

I'll be hanging out at the bar. DM me on Twitter for details on how to recognize me (since I'm all incognito with a pen name). You can follow me here if you don't already.

Thanks, and I'm looking forward to some girl time!

Wine Review: Kluge Estate

This wine review is a sad one because a few months after we received the samples, Hubby and I found out that Kluge Estate Winery and Vineyards went into foreclosure. We had good memories of visiting there during our wine trip to Virginia in 2008, although we were a little put off by the wine tasting being served in a test-tube tray (sorry, no pictures). We also got to try some Kluge wine as they expanded distribution into Georgia last year and found it to be better than we'd remembered.

I'd wondered whether to even post this review since the winery has gone under. It's kind of like reviewing zombie wine, but I would imagine that there's still some hanging out in warehouses and with distributors. Even though the sparkling and Viognier are listed as "Sold Out" on the Kluge website, they may still be available somewhere and are worth a taste before they're gone.

We saved the 2004 SP (for sparkling) Blanc de Noir for our anniversary and weren't disappointed with its toasty notes and very slight berry undertones. It paired well with the view from the porch at my parents' cabin in Blairsville:




We tried the 2009 Albemarle Viognier in November. It had the Viognier peachy nose and floral finish, but I expected more in terms of body. It has an acidic bite instead of a smooth texture, almost like a Pinot Grigio. However, the shrimp risotto we paired it with brought out the stone fruit character of the wine, which enhanced it.


Finally, the 2009 Albemarle Sauvignon Blanc was also quite acidic, but good with food. Citrus and melon were the predominant flavors with a little grassiness. This is the only one still listed as available on the web site.

If nothing else, I hope this review serves as a reminder that we need to support our local wineries. Yes, I realize that Kluge got caught with their financial pants down in a tough economic climate (recent article here), but I hope that other local wineries won't disappear as well. As consumers, the best things we can do are to ask for local wines in restaurants and wine retailers and to visit our wineries regularly. And, as a wine blogger, I will try to review samples in a more timely manner. I'm finally getting my writing routine down, so that should help me to post more regularly.

Disclosure: All wines in this review were received free of charge for sampling purposes. This did not impact my review.

Frozen Flakes of Doom!!! Day Two, Cabin Fever Sets In

Well, for those of us in Atlanta, it looks like it's going to be a long, cold road out of this one. As you can see, although the ice on the roads is melting, they're still pretty covered, and it's supposed to go down to 19 degrees Fahrenheit. That's too many degrees below zero Celsius for me to want to think about right now.



Now that we're on our second day of enforced staying home, a little bit of cabin fever has set in. Bailey has taken to attempting mind control to get us to let him out (he doesn't go outside):



Meanwhile, Tabitha has started gazing longingly at one of the pictures Hubby took on last summer's trip to the Pacific Northwest, which makes for some interesting typing and tweeting with her fat self on my laptop keyboard. Maybe she's reminiscing about getting us humans out of the house for a while.



I was going to deal with the cabin fever by baking all day, and I did make a batch of yummy blueberry muffins:


Hubby was also climbing the walls, so we decided to head out to the nearest pub within walking distance, the James Joyce. I typically don’t go there since they allow smoking after a certain time, and I did come home smelling of smoke tonight, but it did feel good to get out. It was especially fun after we ran into some friends and met "head busboy" Daniel Acree. It felt like a real neighborhood pub.

I, of course, forgot all about those healthy eating intentions and went straight for the comfort food, a Barbecue Bacon Cheeseburger, and Chimay Red beer:


Hubby enjoyed the fireplace (they have two on the porch):


No, we didn't sit out on the patio:


Wow, even the fountain lions look cold:


The sun is supposed to come out tomorrow, and I'm hoping to make it back to the office in the afternoon so the week isn't a total loss. Meanwhile, I'll watch out for those killer icicles: